university of south carolina beaufort THE FALL 2016 PEN ENT CREATIVE W TUD RIT F S ING O A AL N N D R A U R O J T The Pen Fall 2016 THE s FALL 2016 e i t d r u o d t f e u u s p n a a i e l r v PEN b a t e r m r a e e si n b n t i i t y ol l of car o south d d 9 f n r 0 a a 9 en , v 9 gli ter le 2 b on sh, thea ou a lu e u y b in ff niversit ol om ton, car .c south ail thepe b@gm nusc pen d uscb.edu/ ar bo l ria ito n ed so ob on d s jere ia er my breland t nd he s r t xi le m katie har ale il aho m gan ily y hickman em z r oë slingluff so vi ad y lt us acu hr f lp ma en ell dr. g raphic design bill lisbon table of contents 5 Prose 45 Drama Poetry 85 Thanks 104 105 Submitting to The Pen About The Pen 105 About the Society of Creative Writers 106 3 void pho tography by Jay Cheatham 4 PROSE 6 Some Unholy War by Jacob Beers 18 A Glance on the Parallel by Jayme Brinson 24 The Media by Jayme Brinson 26 Past and Present by Kirstin Crites 33 Leave by Katie Hart 37 Water Wings by Katie Hart 40 Bridges and Walls by Zoë Slingluff 42 Sacraments by Jacob Woelke 5 Some Unholy War Jacob Beers An Interview with DJ Cruz DJ Cruz played at the same festival that would end up being Helen Rothschild’s last performance before her death, and Cruz says he was “horrified” watching her onstage and wished he could have helped her. Helen’s August 16 performance at Ladybug Music Festival, in which she stumbled onstage and was booed by her fans, marked her last performance before she was found dead in her apartment this past Wednesday. DJ Cruz also performed that night and described what it was like watching Helen that night to NOW magazine: “As soon as I got out of the car, I knew something was wrong,” Cruz remembers. “I could hear the audience booing from outside the venue. It was louder than the music.” Cruz watched her performance from the side of the stage. “Helen just stood there, swaying, mumbling occasionally. The band played qui- etly and they looked terribly uncomfortable. The whole audience was in shock.” “I think she was on stage for 30 or so minutes before she just walked off. I was horrified.” Cruz, who has been sober for 10 years, wishes he could have helped her. “What I saw in Helen was, simply, the love of existing in a chemically altered state. I know a lot of addicts, and sadly, she is one that didn’t survive.” Background Helen Rothschild was born Helen Naylor de Rothschild in New 6 York City on October 5, 1987 to parents Rowan Gary de Rothschild, an entrepreneur, and Gloria de Rothschild, a college professor. She has one sister, Camille de Rothschild (born 1990), and two brothers, twins, Gavin and Rowan Jr. (born 1996). She is of French descent. Rothschild grew up on Long Island, New York, and attended Long Island Lutheran Middle and High School. After graduating high school, she was accepted to the Julliard School of New York but decided not to attend. She took a gap year, living on Long Island with relatives, working as a waitress. Regarding not having friends in school, she said: “that was when my musical experience began. I found people like myself, for myself.” Rothschild then lived in Brooklyn for eight years. When she was 18, she began performing in various nightclubs around the city under names such as “Butterfly Queen” and “The Enig- ma Helen.” “I was always singing. At 18 I started at clubs in the city. I have good friends and devoted fans in the underground. We were playing for each other.” 2007: Back to Basics On May 7, 2007, an eight track compact disk was registered under Helen Naylor Rothschild with the United States Copyright Office. The application title was “Back to Basics” with another title “Spirited Away” also listed. The track titles are currently unknown. Between 2007 and 2008, the album Odyssey was recorded under the name “April Jones” and leaked in June 2014. During her first performance in 2006, Helen sang the song “Some Unholy War” by one of her inspirations, Amy Winehouse. “It’s hard to describe what I saw on stage. There was pain and heart- ache, but a steady devotion she portrayed in her performance,” Richard Pike of Pike Entertainment Group recalls. “My first performance?” Helen smiles and her eyes concentrate and she pauses, looking up to the left. She sighs. “It would have been in 2006. Amy [Winehouse’s] album had just come out. I was obsessed with it.” Her deep eyes sparkle. 7 “I can tell you I wore a vintage Lanvin lace tuxedo inset blouse and matching long pleated bow waist skirt. It was ivory and black.” She places her hands on her lap and leans back, eyes closed. “And I sang ‘Some Unholy War’ by Amy Winehouse.” She smiles and sings some bars: Yes my man is fighting some unholy war, and I will stand beside you, and who you dying for? Me, I would have died too. I would have liked to. If my man was fighting some unholy war. “My hair was tied up in a loose bun. It was hot in there, I know it was not holding up.” She laughs. “It was such a magical night.” 2010-2012: Some Unholy War and Tribute After sending a demo with a few original tracks and her unofficial cover of “Some Unholy War” to Venus Records she was signed with them and released her debut single “Invisible.” The song earned her a Jupiter award for “Best Upcoming Artist” in 2010 and a Euterpe award for “Best Contemporary Song” in 2011. The same month she began work on her second studio album Some Unholy War. She toured many popular cities, performing live, in order to promote her albums release including Roseland Ballroom and the Waldorf-As- toria, and with performances on The Graham Norton Show and The Johnathan Ross Show. Rothschild also performed two songs from the album on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on January 13, 2011. “I’ve never been a performer,” Helen smiles. “I don’t like the spot- light on me. I’ve never been an exhibitionist,” she giggles and looks around. “Oh boy,” her voice trails off. Off camera someone asks her a question. She ‘hm’s.” The question is repeated. She giggles. “I can respond to critics for you if you’d so like,” she 8 winks. “I looked beautiful and I felt, and feel, beautiful. I wore a Gucci crystal knot black silk gown and Gucci Leila metallic leather platform sandals.” She uncrosses and switches her legs. From the Notes of Quincey Jones She avoided interviews because she felt her words were scrutinized and used against her. She showed up to ours on time. I went into the green room to great her before we started. She was laid like a painting on one of the couches, comfortable but aware of her image. We chat- ted for a bit before we recorded. She was soft spoken and sat gracefully during our short conversation. “How would you like to be addressed during this interview?” “You can call me whatever you want, but most people call me Hel- en.” “Alright Helen.” I smile. “Are you comfortable? Is there anything you think you might need before we begin?” She smiles. “No thank you.” She politely sits crossing one leg over the other. I then notice she doesn’t have a purse or even her phone with her. “Wonderful! Let’s get started.” I tell Mark to start rolling and we begin the interview. “I would like to just get right into it if you don’t mind.” “I don’t mind. I’d prefer it.” That smile again. “Why do you make music?” “Because I like it.” I stayed silent. “Well I love it. I love to make music. I love to sing. It makes me happy.” “Your music is very somber but is it cathartic or is it truth?” “That’s a good question.” “That’s a shitty answer.” “You’re not asking the right questions.” I was silent again. “Okay. Helen. Would you do it all again?” “No.” 9 2010-2012: Some Unholy War and Tribute cont… “I still have that dress, you know, and shoes,” Helen looks at the interviewer and smiles. Then she looks down again and fidgets with her hands. “I, um, I sang ‘Angels Forever.’ Now it wasn’t the greatest of my performances. I was nervous. I’m always nervous, but the performance was true to form and didn’t warrant the reaction it received.” She looks down and sighs. “Singing is what I do. I am good at it and Jimmy [Fal- lon] knows that. The producers know that. It wasn’t an accident I was on that show.” Some Unholy War was officially released on February 28, 2011, world- wide, and reached number one in nine countries. Critical reception was mixed to positive. Some Unholy War sold 4 million copies in 2011 mak- ing it the third-best-selling album.